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• Louisiana may forgo new textbooks because of Common Core alignment issues. (Curriculum Matters)
• Teacher: The UFT should secure pay raises in exchange for an evaluation deal. (NYC Educator)
• Some Indiana parents have pulled their kids out of school over bullying concerns. (HuffPo)
• The Campaign for Fiscal Equity may reopen a lawsuit over education funding. (NYC PS Parents)
• Doug Harris’s teacher evaluation proposal merits a closer look from states. (Quick and the Ed)
• Joel Klein is among education company leaders supporting Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush’s policies. (CNBC)
• A bill to let Chicago school closings happen later awaits Gov. Quinn’s decision. (Catalyst Chicago)

Mayoral candidates have only just started outlining their education policy agendas as campaign season heats up. But one advocacy group is stepping in to help them figure out what those platforms look like.

A+NYC, a new coalition formed earlier this year to shape policy in time for the 2013 mayoral election, launched an online “policy hub” today that includes research briefs on 20 education issues that the group wants to be the focus of debates in months to come. The coalition will eventually make policy recommendations once it is done hosting more than 60 local community meetings.

A+ NYC is made up of many of the same organizers who are behind New Yorkers for Great Public Schools, a union-backed coalition of advocacy organizations. Both groups are trying to influence what education policies the mayoral candidates implement, but while New Yorkers for Great Public Schools has held rallies and criticized its opponents, A+ NYC is seeking a quieter strategy.

That strategy began by recruiting 11 education non-profits to look at research topics of expertise and compile summary briefs on each one. Though the coalition was formed in the spirit of changing many policies established in the last 12 years, the summaries highlight research that occasionally supports Bloomberg initiatives, including special education reforms and the city’s wish to use student surveys on teacher evaluations.

In some instances, the briefs initially left out well-known research. The charter schools research brief omits findings from Macke Raymond’s 2010 CREDO report on New York City’s charter sector, which showed charter students scored higher on reading and math tests than district school peers. The brief instead highlights a 2009 study by Caroline Hoxby, which found similar gains made by charter school students, and notes that those findings were contested. (more…)

Comptroller John Liu was one of four likely mayoral candidates to speak at an event in Harlem hosted by a group that opposes the Bloomberg administration’s school policies.

In a series of short stump speeches last night to a group fiercely opposed Mayor Bloomberg, four Democratic mayoral contenders delivered abbreviated versions of their visions for the future of education in New York City.

Given just five minutes to speak, the candidates didn’t have much time to get into specifics — something that, 10 months before the primary election, most are being careful about doing.

If anything, the night was an opportunity to make a good first impression for New Yorkers for Great Public Schools, the group formed by union and progressive community leaders to oppose the Bloomberg administration’s schools policies in the mayoral election. Interspersed among the candidates’ speeches, parents and religious leaders criticized the co-locations, budget cuts, and school closures that have taken place under Mayor Bloomberg.

The appearance was also an important one to make for candidates who hope their path to victory includes a coveted endorsement from the teachers union. (more…)

• The new Campaign for Fiscal Equity is threatening to sue the state for $5 billion in unfunded aid. (Times)
• Almost all students who attend selective high schools came from selective middle schools as well. (Post)
• Student surveys aren’t likely to be part of New York City’s evaluation plan this year. (GothamSchools)
• Uncertainty hangs over the city’s timeline for submitting and implementing the plan. (GothamSchools)
• A Bronx school facing closure enrolls 950 students whose top choice was elsewhere. (Riverdale Press)
• Local officials approved a plan to rezone some of Park Slope’s popular zoned schools. (PS Patch)
• High-priced tutors basically do the work for some students at top schools, teachers and tutors say. (Post)
• Online public schools spend millions in advertising to attract students to enroll in classes. (USA Today)
• A chain-wielding parent was arrested at a troubled high school after he threatened staff.  (Post)
• A newly reopened Queens school held students in an auditorium that should have been closed. (Post)